KELLY BROTHERS HIT THE ROAD TO BRING NISSAN BACK TO BATHURST - Traditional Kelly brothers Bathurst road trip undertaken in heritage G60 Patrol and all-new Nissan Patrol V8 Ti-L (Y62) - Nissan back at Bathurst with a factory team for the first time since 1992 victory with Mark Skaife and Jim Richards in Nissan GT-R R32 VIDEO NEWS RELEASE DOWNLOAD: http://bammedia.createsend1.com/t/r-e-ngedy-jrlihhfud-r/ YOUTUBE VIDEO TO VIEW AND/OR EMBED: http://youtu.be/4itgx30mqhs AUDIO GRABS TO LISTEN/DOWNLOAD/EMBED: http://www.soundcloud.com/grantmarkrowley DOWNLOAD HI-RES IMAGES: http://www.flickr.com/nma715/ BATHURST, Australia (8 October 2013) Nissan is back at Mount Panorama, Bathurst this weekend with a factory team for the first time since its back-to-back Bathurst 1000 victories in 1991 and 1992. As they lead Nissan s return to The Mountain, Nissan Motorsport team owners and drivers Todd and Rick Kelly, along with Jack Daniel s Racing co-drivers David Russell and Karl Reindler, today arrived in Bathurst, New South Wales following their traditional road trip from Melbourne, driving an old Nissan G60 Patrol and new Patrol V8. The brothers will compete in the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 in the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar and will look to build on a strong season so far, where the team claimed its first victory at Winton Motor Raceway in August. Jim Richards and Mark Skaife took the Nissan factory team to victory in the now infamous 1992 race with the legendary Nissan Godzilla Skyline, backing up from their race record time on their way to Nissan s first Bathurst win in 1991. The 2013 V8 Supercars season of endurance consists of three events, the Wilson Security Sandown 500, Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000 and Armor All Gold Coast 600, and for the first time drivers will race for the Pirtek Endurance Cup awarded to the driver pairing with the most championship points across all three races. After the Sandown 500 Rick Kelly sits 13th in the series standings, while Todd Kelly is 25th following a strong showing in the traditional pre-bathurst event. The Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima s will take to the Bathurst circuit for the first time on Thursday for practice for the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.
POINTS OF INTEREST: NISSAN MOTORSPORT JACK DANIEL S RACING DRIVERS TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: - This year is Todd Kelly s 16th Bathurst 1000 start - and first in a car other than a Holden Commodore - It is also his sixth successive Bathurst appearance in Jack Daniel s colours - Todd Kelly won the race in 2005 - on his 26th birthday - He also finished on the podium in 2001 and 2006 - Kelly has finished in 13 of 15 starts in the Bathurst classic - Todd also won the 2003 Bathurst 24 Hour GT race in 2003 RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: - This year is Rick Kelly s 13th Bathurst 1000 start and fifth in succession for Jack Daniel s Racing - He was the youngest driver to win the race in 2003 - and went back-to-back in 2004 with Greg Murphy - 2013 is his first time competing in the race in a car other than a Commodore DAVID RUSSELL - #7 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: - This year is David Russell s fifth Bathurst appearance and second time co-driving for Todd Kelly - 2013 is his third successive year with Jack Daniel s Racing at Bathurst KARL REINDLER - #15 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: - This year is Karl Reindler s sixth Bathurst 1000 start - He has a 100 per cent finishing record in the race since debuting as a late replacement for the injured Grant Denyer in 2008 - He drove for the Kelly-run team last year but this year is his first under the Jack Daniel s Racing banner
NISSAN MOTORSPORT JACK DANIEL S RACING QUOTEBOARD Media Information TODD KELLY - #7 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: Championship position: 25th Bringing Nissan back to Bathurst is huge, it s almost the same as when we turned up at Clipsal for the first race of Nissan being back in V8 Supercars after 20 years and in some ways it s probably a bigger deal that Nissan is back at Bathurst, said Todd Kelly. It s going to be a big weekend for us here and I just can t wait to get these things out on to the track and see exactly what they can do. If we get the car tuned well, we should be extremely strong through the top of the mountain based off all the races we have done so far with the Altima. We re generally very good in the corners when we get the car set up right, so hopefully we can do that. I think we really need to nail that part of it so that we ve got lots of speed over the top, which will make us less vulnerable down the straight. Potentially we will lack a bit of straight line speed, and we still don t know until we get a few laps under our belt what our fuel economy will be. All in all, I just can t wait to get in the car and see how it goes around this place. On driving Nissan Patrols, new and old, on the traditional Bathurst road trip It s our first year at Bathurst with Nissan and the first year with the road trip to Bathurst in a Nissan, so we had a bit of a chat with the crew and Nissan and had a brainstorm of what would be a great rig to drive up, and they ve come up with a real piece of history in a Nissan Patrol G60, said Todd Kelly. "It would actually be great to have that car in our fleet to burn around the farm in Mildura, but it was a fun trip to Bathurst this year and you certainly didn t miss us on the road. RICK KELLY - #15 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: Championship position: 13th I tell you what, the Bathurst 1000 has come around quickly, it s been a busy year for us in the first year of Nissan Motorsport and Bathurst is a big one, said Rick Kelly.
We ve been looking forward to coming here in a Nissan since we debuted the program and the way our car handles mid-high speed, it s going to be an exceptional car across the top of the mountain. Now that we re here and looking at the mountain in the background, we can t wait to jump in the car and see what it feels like around the track. On driving Nissan Patrols, new and old, on the the traditional Bathurst road trip We were pretty excited about the road trip, we ve done it every year and the tradition started back in about 2001 when myself Todd and Nathan Pretty took a Britz motorhome, nicknamed the Happy Camper, to Bathurst and it was a good journey and a great way to get to Bathurst, said Rick Kelly. The trip takes just over a day the way we go about it and we always turn up very relaxed and ready to attack the week. The Bathurst event is a big one and it does take a toll on you over the week, so it s important to get here rested and in good spirits. It s been a good way to do it in the past, so this year we grabbed an old Nissan G60 Patrol, which has been a bit of fun. It s not the fastest thing, but it certainly can climb over the odd rock and sand dune. For us it s something different and it s something we were excited to drive to Bathurst in. DAVID RUSSELL - #7 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: I can t wait to get on the track; it seems like too long ago that we were at Sandown. I was revved up after Sandown, so I can wait to hit the track, said David Russell. It s my favourite track, my favourite time of year and it s going to be a great experience, not only to be back with Todd Kelly, but also to be part of a factory outfit with Nissan Motorsport. KARL REINDLER - #15 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima: It s fantastic to be here back at Bathurst, the track is looking amazing and the atmosphere already this early in the week is pretty special as you would expect, said Karl Reindler said I m pumped to be back and just really looking forward to teaming up with Rick Kelly and seeing what we can do in the big race on Sunday.
NISSAN MOTORSPORT JACK DANIEL S RACING BATHURST 1000 STATISTICS TODD KELLY - BATHURST 1000 STATISTICS: Debut: 1998 (with John Faulkner) Starts: 15 Best result: 1st (2005 with Mark Skaife) Podiums: 3 (1st: 1, 2nd: 1, 3rd: 1) Top 10s: 7 2012 result: 18th with Tim Blanchard RICK KELLY - BATHURST 1000 STATISTICS: Debut: 2001 (with Nathan Pretty) Starts: 12 Best result: 1st (2003/2004 with Greg Murphy) Podiums: 3 (1st: 2, 2nd: 1, 3rd: 0) Top 10s: 5 2012 result: 15th with David Russell DAVID RUSSELL - BATHURST 1000 STATISTICS: Debut: 2003 (with Jose Fernandez) Starts: 4 Best result: 15th (2012 with Rick Kelly) Podiums: 0 Top 10s: 0 2012 result: 15th with Rick Kelly KARL REINDLER - BATHURST 1000 STATISTICS: Debut: 2008 (with Michael Patrizi) Starts: 5 Best result: 11th (2009 with Jason Bright) Podiums: 0 Top 10s: 0 2012 result: 19th with Daniel Gaunt
MILESTONE DATES: NISSAN IN THE AUSTRALIAN TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP 1984 Nissan takes pole position for the Bathurst 1000 with driver George Fury in a Nissan Bluebird 1986 Nissan takes pole position for the Bathurst 1000 with driver Gary Scott in a Nissan Skyline Turbo 1990 Nissan wins the Australian Touring Car Championship with driver Jim Richards in the Nissan GT-R and Nissan Skyline GTS-R 1991 Nissan wins the Australian Touring Car Championship with driver Jim Richards in the Nissan GT-R 1991 Nissan wins Bathurst 1000 with Jim Richards and Mark Skaife in Nissan GT-R in race record time 1992 Nissan wins the Australian Touring Car Championship with driver Mark Skaife in the Nissan GT-R 21 June 1992 Mark Skaife wins the final two races of the 1992 Australian Touring Car Championship at Oran Park Raceway to seal the title Nissan wins its last Australian Touring Car Championship race 1992 Nissan wins the Bathurst 1000 with drivers Jim Richards and Mark Skaife in the Nissan GT-R 7-8 November 1992 Jim Richards wins both races in the non-championship event at the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix in Adelaide, South Australia the Nissan GT-R wins its final race in Australian Touring Car racing before the precursor to V8 Supercars regulations are introduced for 1993. 1998 A Nissan Primera from the British Touring Car Championship was entered in the 1998 Bathurst 1000 for Super Tourer cars, with drivers Steven Richards and Matt Neal finishing in second. 24 August 2013 James Moffat and Michael Caruso score 1-2 finish in Saturday s race at the Event 9 of 2013 V8 Supercars Championship at Winton Motor Raceway in Victoria, first V8 Supercars win for Nissan, also 29th Australian Touring Car Championship win for Nissan and first in over 21 years.
NISSAN MOTORSPORT: JOURNEY TO THE GRID TIMELINE Media Information 9 February 2012: Nissan announces factory entry in the V8 Supercars Championship from 2013, partnering with Kelly Racing, team to be renamed Nissan Motorsport and field four entries. In the week prior, Todd Kelly and team engineers visit NISMO headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. 17 March 2012: Simon Sproule, Corporate Vice President Global Marketing Communications, Nissan Motor Company, tours team facility and meets with key staff while in Melbourne for the Formula 1 Australian Grand Prix. 5 April 2012: Rick Kelly attends New York Auto Show for the global unveil of the 2013 Nissan Altima. Nissan confirms that the Altima will be sold in Australia from 2013 and that the Altima will be raced by Nissan Motorsport in the V8 Supercars Championship. Kelly meets with Nissan global CEO Carlos Ghosn and discusses V8 Supercars and Nissan Motorsport plans. 18-20 May 2012: Yasuharu Kamei, General Manager Development Department, NISMO, tours team facility, meets with key staff and attends V8 Supercars Championship event at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit in Victoria. 27 June 2012: Media Release confirming arrival of Nissan parts at Kelly Racing in Melbourne via freight from the United States. 4 September 2012: The Nissan Motorsport VK56DE engine, a production-based engine that will also power the all-new 2013 Nissan Patrol, unveiled at team facility by Nissan Australia Managing Director and CEO William F Peffer Jr and team Racing Director and co-owner Todd Kelly. 30 October 2012: Nissan Australia Managing Director and CEO William F Peffer Jr is joined by team co-owners and drivers Todd and Rick Kelly to unveil the Nissan Altima V8 Supercar for the first time in Melbourne, Australia. 2 November 2012: Todd Kelly becomes the first person to drive a Nissan Altima V8 Supercar as the car undertakes a shakedown run at Calder Park Raceway in Melbourne, Australia ahead of aerodynamic testing and homologation. 12 February 2013: Nissan Motorsport team is launched in Melbourne, Victoria as Nissan Altima V8 Supercars are unveiled in 2013 race colours. Confirmation that James Moffat and Michael Caruso will join the team to drive Norton-backed Nissan Altimas with Todd and Rick Kelly to pilot black and white Jack Daniel s Nissan Altimas. 1-3 March 2013: Nissan Motorsport is competitive in its first event of the 2013 V8 Supercars Championship, the Clipsal 500 in Adelaide, South Australia, with Rick Kelly finishing in 11th.
STATISTICS: NISSAN IN THE AUSTRALIAN TOURING CAR CHAMPIONSHIP - Nissan has won 29 Australian Touring Car Championship races the most of any manufacturer outside of Holden and Ford - Nissan has won 23 Australian Touring Car Championship pole positions the most of any manufacturer outside of Holden and Ford - Nissan has won two Bathurst 1000 races outright, the most of any manufacturer outside of Holden and Ford. Nissan, Ford and Holden are the only three manufacturers to have won multiple Bathurst 1000 races outright - Nissan has won three Australian Touring Car Championships ranked fourth behind Ford, Holden and Jaguar (Jaguar s four titles came when the championship was decided by a single race in the 1960s) 2013 V8 SUPERCARS CHAMPIONSHIP Driver Points Standings after Event 10 of 15 1. Jamie Whincup, 2147 2. Craig Lowndes, 2051 3. Will Davison, 2050 4. Mark Winterbottom, 1981 5. James Courtney, 1909 6. Fabian Coulthard, 1901 7. Shane Van Gisbergen, 1770 8. Jason Bright, 1715 9. Garth Tander, 1680 10. Scott McLaughlin, 1498 13. Rick Kelly, 1215 (#15 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima) 14. James Moffat, 1209 (#360 Norton Nissan Altima) 22. Michael Caruso, 899 (#300 Norton Nissan Altima) 25. Todd Kelly, 833 (#7 Jack Daniel s Nissan Altima)
SUPERCHEAP AUTO BATHURST 1000 DETAILS: Circuit: Mount Panorama Location: Bathurst, NSW, Australia Circuit Length: 6.213 kilometres Qualifying Format: 40-minute qualifying session on Friday; Top 10 Shootout on Saturday Race Format: 1 x 1000km race on Sunday (minimum seven pit stops) WEEKEND SCHEDULE Times below are Australian Eastern Daylight Savings Time (UTC + 11 hours) Thursday 10 October 2013 10:20am - 11:10am: Practice 1 1:15pm - 2:00pm: Practice 2 (co-drivers only) 3:35pm - 4:25pm: Practice 3 Friday 11 October 2013 9:40am - 10:25pm: Practice 4 (co-drivers only) 11:05am - 11:55am: Practice 5 3:00pm - 3:40pm: Qualifying Saturday 12 October 2013 10:00am - 10:55am: Practice 6 5:00pm - 5:45pm: Top 10 Shootout Sunday 13 October 2013 7:25am - 7:45am: Warm Up 10:30am: Race 29 (161 laps) AUS TELEVISION SCHEDULE - SEVEN NETWORK Times subject to amendment - please check local guides Friday 11 October 2013 Sydney: 1.00pm - 4.00pm on Seven (Friday Night Live from 6.30pm on 7mate) Melbourne: 1.00pm - 4.00pm on Seven (Friday Night Live from 6.30pm on 7mate) Brisbane: 12.00pm - 3.00pm on Seven (Friday Night Live from 5.30pm on 7mate) Adelaide: 12.30pm - 3.30pm on Seven (Friday Night Live from 6.00pm on 7mate) Perth: 10.00am - 1.00pm on Seven (Friday Night Live from 3.30pm on 7mate) Saturday 12 October 2013 Sydney: 12.00pm - 5.00pm on Seven Melbourne: 12.00pm - 5.00pm on Seven Brisbane: 11.00am - 5.00pm on Seven
Adelaide: 11.30am - 5.30pm on Seven Perth: 9.00am - 3.00pm on Seven Sunday 13 October 2013 Sydney: 7.00am - 5.30pm on Seven Melbourne: 7.00am - 5.30pm on Seven Brisbane: 6.00am - 5.00pm on Seven Adelaide: 6:30am - 5.30pm on Seven Perth: 4.00am - 3.00pm on Seven AUS TELEVISION REPLAYS - SPEED (FOXTEL) Times in AEDT and subject to amendment - please check local guides Friday 11 October 2013: 6.30pm (Preview) Sunday 13 October 2013: 8.00pm (Race 29) Monday 14 October 2013: 10.00am (Race 29)
FOLLOW THE NISSAN MOTORSPORT V8 SUPERCARS RACE TEAM: Twitter: @Nissan_MSport Facebook: Facebook.com/NissanMotorsportAus YouTube: YouTube.com/NissanMotorsportTV Instagram: NissanMotorsport Web: http://www.nissanmotorsport.com.au Todd Kelly on Twitter: @ToddKellyRacing Rick Kelly on Twitter: @RickKelly Michael Caruso on Twitter: @MichaelCarus0 James Moffat on Twitter: @J_Moffat V8 Supercars Twitter hashtag: #V8SC About Nissan Motor Company Nissan Motor Co., Ltd., Japan s second-largest automotive company, is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan, and is part of the Renault-Nissan Alliance. Operating with approximately 236,000 employees globally, Nissan sold more than 4.9 million vehicles and generated revenue of 9.6 trillion yen (USD 116.16 billion) in fiscal 2012. Nissan delivers a comprehensive range of more than 60 models under the Nissan and Infiniti brands. In 2010, Nissan introduced the Nissan LEAF, and continues to lead in zero-emission mobility. The LEAF, the first mass-market, pure-electric vehicle launched globally, is now the best-selling EV in history. For more information on our products, services and commitment to sustainable mobility, visit our website at http://www.nissan-global.com/en For further information: Peter Fadeyev Chris Jordan Carla Clark General Manager Corporate Communications Nissan Motor Co. Australia Phone: +61 3 9797 4294 Email: peter_fadeyev@infiniticars.com.au Corporate Communications Supervisor Nissan Motor Co. Australia Phone: +61 3 9797 4155 Email: chris_jordan@nissan.com.au Corporate Communications Specialist Nissan Motor Co. Australia Phone: +61 3 9797 4393 Email: carla_clark@infiniticars.com.au For more information please visit: Nissan Australia Media Information: http://www.nissan.com.au/news Nissan Australia YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/nissanaustralia Nissan Australia Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/nissanaustralia Nissan Australia Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/nissan_aus Nissan Global Newsroom: http://www.nissan-newsroom.com/en/